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Defence in the World

I am grateful to the Minister for giving way. Last week, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for North-East Fife (Sir Menzies Campbell) outlined a proposed framework for a staged withdrawal from Iraq, which he said should culminate by 31 October. We were taking the Government at their word about handing over the provinces in the spring. The framework allows three months to negotiate with our allies and six to get out. That seems pretty flexible to me—nobody said that anything had to happen on 1 May that could not happen on 30 April or 2 May. However, I leave the Minister to his reading.